From London to Bhajanpura - My Experience with Parichay

Monday, 8 July 2013

So it was time to say goodbye again. After arriving back in London I realised that it's not worth feeling sad that I've left Delhi. Within the space of one day, I was at my friend's house in Bhajanpura where Kailash, Vicky, Amar and Yaseen had come to see me off, and later I was with my family in London.

It made me realise how small the world really is, and after a little saving how easily I can visit my friends and Parichay family in Delhi once again.

So I won't say goodbye, just simply 'phir milenge' - we will meet again. Until that day, you will always be in my thoughts.

Saturday, 15 June 2013

Thursday, 6 June 2013

The past week gave some of the younger children a new experience to visit a corporate house. STMicroelectronics decided that they would like to assist Parichay in other ways in addition to the spice/handicraft stalls.

In order to kick start this, some of the senior and younger children were invited to see the hand made items made by staff for Parichay's new child-to-child program which will commence after summer has passed. The program will see the special children paired up with n older child who will tutor them - thus giving the special children time to bond with the elder children and also to teach the elder children sense of responsibility.

Apart from this, me and Vijay set up a handicraft stall at another corporate house, and tomorrow we will be visiting Fidelity in Gurgaon for a spice & handicraft stall.

Tuesday, 21 May 2013

Things are running smoothly at Parichay and the boys are picking up the Urdu very well. The special and younger kids are now off for a month due to the heat.

Today Viay conducted Parent Teacher meetings to track the progress of the special kids and set future learning goals. We went to Tribal Fusion again last week and we shall also be going this Thursday.

Currently classes are only running until 11.30am as the afternoons become unbearably hot. Today Amar asked me about healthy eating and so this triggered off a class on eating healthily, the function of various vitamins, minerals and nutrients. After this, I got the children to make some daily healthy eating plans in groups.

Wednesday, 15 May 2013

The start of the month commenced with the senior boys and Vijay shifting all belongings to the new centre. The boy's effort was commendable and really reflected their commitment to Parichay as a whole. The boys loaded many heavy items in to the rickshaw alone, then transported the rickshaw alone without the assistant of any adult!
Such actions are always an important reminder of the bond in Parichay and the common ideal that runs throughout the project.

It is heartwarming to see the project entirely in one place, now Parichay has both physical and emotional unity. Now that all of the belongings and fittings are firmly in place, I have made a video of the new centre in action, along with some pictures of Parichay at it's new home.

In addition to this, the new centre will allow for much more activities to be facilitated. I saw this in action today, when the senior boys cooked a very delicious macaroni dish! I have already suggested some new ideas to which Vijay was very receptive. The fabric off-cuts which are used to make wallets could also make wonderful handmade stuffed animal toys.

Friday, 26 April 2013

Parichay is moving! Today me, Vijay, the senior boys and Moni, all attended the new site to clean up after painting in preparation for shifting the belongings this weekend. We all worked together in high spirits, removing dust and dried paint from the floor and other surfaces, and completed as much as we could before the senior boys got ready for school, which starts in the afternoon.

The new centre will be functional from the 1st of May, and will harbour an even greater sense of community for Parichay members - all activities will now be at one site. The new site is very spacious - with a long corridor, a wash room, kitchen, two large rooms and a large hall which will be divided during attendance of the special children - splitting this growing class in to two will help with the attention span of the special children and improve the way Parichay is run. I can't wait for the 1st of May, when the whole Parichay family will be under one roof!